Senior officials of four major global wire services – Xinhua News Agency, Reuters, The Associated Press (AP) and Agence France-Presse (AFP) – met in Beijing on Saturday to discuss media development in the age of artificial intelligence (AI).

The four news agencies established a high-level dialogue and cooperation mechanism in December 2023, when their leaders met for the first such dialogue. “The rapid development of AI technology is profoundly impacting global economic and social development and the progress of human civilization,” said Fu Hua, president of Xinhua, adding that AI is reshaping the landscape of news production and dissemination.

While AI technology enhances the quality, efficiency, productivity, and capability of news production, it also increases the risk of spreading false information through AI-generated images and videos, posing challenges to the development of media, he said.

Fu suggested that the four wire services embrace technological change, adhere to journalistic values and combat misinformation, while strengthening communication and cooperation to promote joint development. “Major global wire services should jointly shoulder the responsibility of upholding journalistic ethics, ensuring that their reporting is accurate, fair, authoritative, and credible,” he said.

Senior officials of Reuters, the AP and AFP said news agencies should actively harness AI to empower journalism, while building guardrails to mitigate risks. Media should adhere to journalistic standards and commit to providing audiences with credible, accurate, and objective news. All four major global wire services agreed to continue strengthening communication and sharing experience on related topics.

African Times has published this article in partnership with Xinhua News Agency